Kayak drift boat?

There is a video on youtube that I came across, and have been searching for an hour to try and find it again.  There is a guy who took his PA 12, and had some shaky oar locks on it and he was indeed using it to go down a fairly WW river.  I remember thinking, why not just point upstream, and install a small rear view mirror on the rail so you can see snags/sweepers/rocks?   I have 2 PA 14s and I run plugs alot of the time.  It is very effective at catching fish, but causes quite a neck ache.    I am going to install a small mirror soon.  Maybe suction cup mount or something removable.

why not just point upstream, and install a small rear view mirror on the rail so you can see snags/sweepers/rocks?

I think it would be better to face downstream so you can see where you're going.  Imagine trying to drive a car while facing backwards and looking in a small rear view mirror.  Rafters and drift boaters face downstream when rowing in whitewater or in rocky conditions, but a lot of their maneuvers involve rowing upstream to slow up the boat and to ferry from one side of the river to another.  If they want to really move downstream, they'll turn their boat around so their back is facing downstream so they can pull on the oars, rather than push on the oars, to move downstream.  But they have to keep looking over their shoulder to be sure they aren't going to run into something.

I've been trying methods to fish on PNW rivers for years now. I'm convinced that the best method is to let a kayak fish like a kayak and let the drift boats have their turf. Both boats have advantages in different areas of the river. I do pull a plug in a tailout while facing upstream with the rod in a holder, but mostly I leave that to the drift boats.

Since kayaks have narrow beams compared to drift boats and are not burdened by oars that make the beam even wider they can slip into narrow side eddies and under the overhangs. You can also stay in a wider eddy better than drift boats by spinning on the eddy line. By putting a couple of feet of bow or stern into the downstream current the kayak will spin on a dime. I cast along the eddy lines for a lot of fish. In the narrow eddies where spinning is not an option I try to be very stealthy and cast upstream or downstream within the eddy. The trick is using the river to turn your kayak rather than beating the water into a froth in an attempt to change direction.

I landed dozens of Coho in December and a nice Steelhead in January using these techniques so I have confidence in them. Many days we pull into the takeout with more fish on the kayak than the driftboats with 2 or 3 fishermen aboard. While it's difficult to watch grown fishermen openly weep as they load their boats on the trailer, I'm not about to change my tactics.

I put a few videos of kayak river fishing on my YouTube channel that show these techniques

I've been trying methods to fish on PNW rivers for years now. I'm convinced that the best method is to let a kayak fish like a kayak and let the drift boats have their turf. Both boats have advantages in different areas of the river. I do pull a plug in a tailout while facing upstream with the rod in a holder, but mostly I leave that to the drift boats.

Since kayaks have narrow beams compared to drift boats and are not burdened by oars that make the beam even wider they can slip into narrow side eddies and under the overhangs. You can also stay in a wider eddy better than drift boats by spinning on the eddy line. By putting a couple of feet of bow or stern into the downstream current the kayak will spin on a dime. I cast along the eddy lines for a lot of fish. In the narrow eddies where spinning is not an option I try to be very stealthy and cast upstream or downstream within the eddy. The trick is using the river to turn your kayak rather than beating the water into a froth in an attempt to change direction.

I landed dozens of Coho in December and a nice Steelhead in January using these techniques so I have confidence in them. Many days we pull into the takeout with more fish on the kayak than the driftboats with 2 or 3 fishermen aboard. While it's difficult to watch grown fishermen openly weep as they load their boats on the trailer, I'm not about to change my tactics.

great advice and video, thanks!   

Point the Pro Angler downstream, pull up the rudder, pop your mirage drive in backwards so you're pedaling upriver, don't worry about oar locks, just use your paddle to control side to side, put your rod in the rod holder, and wait for that take-down as you slowly creep down that river. Try it, you'll be surprised how good it feels.

I've been trying methods to fish on PNW rivers for years now. I'm convinced that the best method is to let a kayak fish like a kayak and let the drift boats have their turf. Both boats have advantages in different areas of the river.

And there you have it!!!

-Allen

Point the Pro Angler downstream, pull up the rudder, pop your mirage drive in and pedal backwards, don't worry about oar locks, just use your paddle to control side to side, put your rod in the rod holder, and wait for that take-down as you slowly creep down that river. Try it, you'll be surprised how good it feels.

I'm down with that plan 

I put a few videos of kayak river fishing on my YouTube channel that show these techniques

Great video, thanks for sharing.  I haven't seen a lot of small river fishing videos; that's definitely something I'd like to start trying out.

Point the Pro Angler downstream, pull up the rudder, pop your mirage drive in backwards so you're pedaling upriver, don't worry about oar locks, just use your paddle to control side to side, put your rod in the rod holder, and wait for that take-down as you slowly creep down that river. Try it, you'll be surprised how good it feels.

how could I not take the advice like that from a resident superstar...   and using my spare drive with 'standard' fins that are 6" shorter than turbo fins will allow pedaling in even shallow water....occam's razor wins out again...cheers, roger